Victory Cruise Lines Receives Approval for Cuba Cruises

Victory Cruise Lines, a small ship company started in 2016, has received approval to bring their sole ship, Victory I, to Cuba. In addition to Havana, the line plans to bring its 202-passenger vessel to Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Santiago de Cuba and Maria La Gorda. While itineraries aren't set yet, the line wants to have overnight stops in at least three ports, said Bruce Nierenberg, president and CEO of Victory Cruise Lines. "Being a small ship company, we will be seeking most of our berths in the smaller less visited ports as we can fit into all the ports in Cuba that would be able to host a cruise product," he told Cruise Critic in an email. "We will work closely with the Cuban authorities to come up with the best combination of ports and cruise lengths that our client demographic looks for." The future of Cuba cruising has seemed uncertain in recent weeks, as cruise lines waited to see if President Trump would drastically roll back travel to the Caribbean's largest island. Last Friday, Trump said that he would crack down on independent travel, but that group travel through people to people -- which most cruise lines sailing to Cuba had adopted -- would be allowed to continue.